By announcing that it is preparing to launch a “communications satellite,” North Korea on Tuesday dressed up its planned test of a long-range ballistic missile — which may be able to reach Alaska — as a benign research project. “Outer space is an asset common to mankind and its use for peaceful purposes has become a global trend,” said a spokesman for the North Korean Committee of Space Technology. North Korea’s announcement comes amid warnings from the United States not to test the missile. A U.N. resolution, passed after North Korea exploded a nuclear device in 2006, bans the country from any ballistic missile activity. Full Story